Your Input Needed for Open Source Hardware Certification

Today the Open Source Hardware Association (OSHWA) is kicking off the process to create an Open Source Hardware Certification. In addition to all of the amazing things that will happen at this year’s Open Hardware Summit, our goal is to be able to roll out the first version of the Open Source Hardware certification this fall. In order to be able to do that, we need your input now. You can find all about the certification and the process here, but the rest of this post will give you a quick overview of what you need to know:

What: A certification program for projects so that people can know that the project really is open source hardware.

When: From now until the Open Hardware Summit. The first deadline for comments and answers to the questions is June 26, 2015.

Where: Comments and answers are being collected in the Open Source Hardware Association forums. We are aiming to roll out the first version of the certification process at the Summit in Philadelphia.

Why: While the community has done great work on developing open source hardware principles, many people are still looking for a simple way to know that something really is open source hardware. Hopefully the certification will be a big step towards that goal.

How: The initial proposal is available here. Once you have read the proposal, weigh in on the questions in the forums here. The OSHWA board will use those answers to craft a final version of the proposal. If more input is needed, there may be a second round of questions for the community.

So what are you waiting for? Check out the full proposal here and starting giving feedback here!

Categorization is important. Like a Hardware module created by small non-opensource hardware can also be an open source hardware. But categorization is needed to handle those things. Like for such certification one will get different color badge in certificate.
Also if someone found guilty and paid money for that, that money will be shown as total value in open source certification portal so that the concerned person can access. Such money can help small open source hardware maker to launch business.
Karma point can be generated on how much compliant is a OSHW so that it gamifies the process. It also adds badge to the maker on OSHW portal.
To simplify process, with each upgrade certification can be upgraded rather than re-creation unless the upgrade means a new device altogether.